Okay, maybe that's not the main reason. But it has to be one of them. The Joe Alexander pick signified that John Hammond was planning for the long run when he drafted a guy solely on potential. At least, I thought that was the plan, but when he couldn't move Jefferson at the break, it looked like the Bucks thought they could pull off the playoffs after all. It's kind of been a season of deciding whether this team wants to compete now or later, and with a 32-46 record, it looks like that decision has been made for them.

While I try to blame this as the reason for the Bucks collapse this season, obviously the reason for their struggles were the major injuries to Bogut (now officially shut down for the season) and Redd. They may not be two of the league's best, but they are our two best, and without them making the playoffs were impossible at best.

While the stepping up in play from Charlie Villanueva and Ramon Sessions were pleasant surprises, as was the emergence of Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, the Bucks just didn't have enough talent to compete at a playoff-caliber level. But then again, we've seen this script plenty of times before, so we shouldn't be too surprised.

In other Bucks news, they lost again Saturday night to the Grizz 107-102. Richard Jefferson get the Player of the Game, which we are continuing to update even though the Bucks recaps are probably done for the season. Also, the Bucks have signed Salim Stoudamire to a deal, although he probably won't play until next year.